"WONDER", BY R.J. PALACIO
I have finished reading the book "Wonder"--many of you have probably heard of it by now.  Here's an excellent review of it:
"Don't miss this one.

Halloween is Auggie's favorite holiday, because he can wear a mask. August Pullman, or Auggie to his family and friends, is an ordinary kid in most ways. He was born with facial deformities, and despite countless surgeries, he still looks different on the outside. On the inside, where few people are allowed, he is funny and smart and so so brave. Auggie embarks on a journey much more scary than any surgery - the 5th grade.

You will be hard-pressed to find any character as courageous as Auggie in children's literature this year. RJ Palacio gifts her readers with a fast-paced, heart-wrenching, honest look at a great family who was dealt a great challenge.

Told from different points of view, the reader not only gets to see inside Auggie's mind, but that of his sister, his friends, and even someone who sees his situation from afar. The role of the sister really got to me (those of you who know me understand why this is so) and I applaud RJ Palacio for giving her such an honest voice.

One of the most powerful parts of the book was not how loudly the other kids made fun of Auggie, it was how QUIET they were. It sucks to be called names, but it's even worse to be ignored. The kids at school had a secret game called The Plague, which was compared to the Cheese Touch. No one could touch Auggie without getting The Plague. The thing is, all the kids thought he didn't know...how could he not? This is bullying that no one sees coming. It's hard to identify, and even harder to stop, but it hurts the worst.

WONDER has stuck with me since I read it, and there are so many scenes I could point to and gush all over, but I don't want to give anything away. (The Precepts!!!) Do yourself a favor - read the book, give it to a middle grader to read, and then talk about it."

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Absolutely.  I would only add:  that if you are a young person, or even an adult, who has Moebius, I bet you may have had some of the same thoughts that Auggie had in this book.  Maybe you've been afraid to acknowledge them.  This book reminds you:  you're not alone.  If you're a parent of a person with Moebius, or a sibling or a friend, again--some of what the characters in this book say, will be things you too may have thought.

So yes, read this book.  Think about it.  Discuss it.  It's worth your while.


“When heaven is about to confer a great responsibility on any man, it will exercise his mind with suffering, subject his sinews and bones to hard work, expose his body to hunger, put him to poverty, place obstacles in the paths of his deeds, so as to stimulate his mind, harden his nature, and improve wherever he is incompetent. ”--Meng Tzu (372 -289 BCE)

"When we are motivated by goals that have deep meaning, by dreams that need completion, by pure love that needs expressing, then we truly live life." -Greg Anderson